Dylan Malloy had been forced into adulthood when he was just sixteen. His parents were killed instantly in an automobile accident leaving his eight-year old sister and him orphans. When he turned eighteen, Dylan adopted Julia and spent the next eight years raising her. Only then did he pursue his dream of becoming a wildlife photographer. With shoots that took him all over the world for months at a time, it was the perfect job for a man who wanted to runaway from his past.

While in Tasmania, he received a devastating telephone call from his lawyer. Julia and her husband had been involved in a terrible car crash. Will had already died, and Julia had lingered only long enough to deliver her baby two months early. A son named Timmy. The news only gets worse when Dylan returns to his home in Wild Horse Junction, Wyoming. Julia has named Shaye Bartholomew the baby’s legal guardian, not him. Apparently, she hadn’t wanted to burden him with a child. But his nephew is his only living relative; his last ties to his sister. How can he not pursue joint custody? Surely he can be a good father without becoming involved with the lovely Shaye.

Shaye Bartholomew’s whole world has just shifted in an instant. Her good friend, Julia, has died in an awful accident that also took the life of her husband. The only survivor is Julia’s baby, delivered two months early just before Julia passed away. Now Timmy is fighting for his life.

When Julia first learned she was pregnant, she’d asked Shaye to be her baby’s legal guardian if anything should happen. Shaye never dreamed the day would actually come, but she is more than willing to raise her friend’s child as her own, and ensure he knows he had parents who would have loved him. Now Julia’s big brother is back and making noises about wanting joint custody. Will he later take Timmy completely? Can he be trusted to stick around or will he leave Wild Horse Junction for more exciting pastures when he grows bored of Timmy and her?

CUSTODY FOR TWO is Book One of Karen Rose Smith’s new trilogy: Baby Bonds Series. It is a wonderful start to the stories of three friends living in fictional Wild Horse Junction, Wyoming. A superb author, Ms. Smith always writes books that you just can’t put down, and CUSTODY FOR TWO is certainly no exception.